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Bryce Canyon Backcountry: Get Out

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This trip is for the serious backpacker who has experience, time, and the gung-ho to get out on the trail and into Bryce Canyon's back country. By combining the gorgeous but uncrowded Under-the-Rim Trail (23 miles) with the Riggs Canyon Trail (7 miles), you can spend a nice three days out if you average 10 miles per day. Make your trip longer to give yourself time to explore the area more, or shorter if you're the type to ascend Everest without oxygen. Your starting point is at 8,250 feet, and there is a total elevation gain of 1,500 feet in your first 23 miles! As you hike, keep an eye out for some of Bryce's three critters on the Endangered Species List: Utah Prairie Dog, California Condor, and the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher. (And please remember it's absolutely illegal to do anything except look at them from a distance.) Water is available along the trail, but check in with the rangers to find out exactly where. Go to the website (http://www.nps.gov/brca/planyourvisit/backcountryinfo.htm) or call 435-834-5322 for up-to-date information. This is a great spring hike (late April/early May) or fall; beware of flash flood season in the fall and of snow levels in the spring. *Note: See this site (http://www.hike-gifts.com/bp-bryce.htm) for a nice little description of hiking the trail in the reverse direction.)

[photo courtesy of Ed Siasoco (aka SC Fiasco)]

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Author: Julie Trevelyan

Day 1 - Bryce Canyon National Park

Make sure you got your back country permit, which is free, from the visitors center. Start off at the Bryce Point trailhead. (You can either drive here, which will mean finding transportation back to your car at hike's end, or vice versa, or arrange for a private shuttle, or take the Park's shuttle. The Park's shuttle will run you to Bryce Point, but it does not go to Rainbow Point, your trip end.) Enjoy the views as you wander under the Pink Cliffs, which form the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Choose your campsites before you go, as they are designated spots only.

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Bryce Point

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Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park, UT 84764

Under-the-Rim Trail

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Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park, UT 84764

Day 3 - Bryce Canyon National Park

Catch the Riggs Spring Loop, or else call it a day by just finishing up the Under-the-Rim Trail right at Rainbow Point. But Riggs is also underrated, and therefore well deserving of exploration! It's 1600 feet below the point, so it's a slog up and down, but gorgeous of course. Reliable, if not totally clear, water is available. When you wrap up your backpack adventure, head to the Bryce Canyon Pines Motel for a shower, decent lodging, and pretty decent food at their adjoining restaurant (their pie...mm, it is good).

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